After DAI organized judicatory leaders and clergy from every major religion in Dallas, and the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, to testify in support of short-term supports for low-income renters and homeowners.  At DAI's urging, the City of Dallas authorized about $13.7 million for short-term rental and mortgage assistance programs including $6 million for direct income support for Dallas residents and $1.5 Million to be entrusted to nonprofits to distribute to undocumented immigrants left out of the CARES Act.  

Speakers who testified in support of this local aid package included Bishop Edward Burns and Auxiliary Bishop Gregory Kelly of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Michael McKee of the North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Bishop Erik KJ Gronberg of the Northern Texas - Northern Louisiana Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and Rabbi Kimberly Herzog-Cohen of Temple Emanu-El.  

Funding will come directly from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and other federal funding the city has made available, and will be targeted at households making 80% or below of the area median income and are left out of the federal stimulus CARES Act.  DAI leaders argued that with 50,000 renters in danger of not being able to pay the rent, that a large local aid package would be essential.

The application is still being finalized but the City of Dallas expects to start accepting them starting May 4.

50,000 Familias en Riesgo de Desalojo Por No Pagar La Renta, Al Dia Dallas [pdf]

Immigrant Workers Face Economic Uncertainty During Covid-19 Shutdown, America Magazine

Personas Indocumentadas Sí Podrán Acceder a Fondo de Ayuda Para Renta, Dallas Al Día [pdf]

Press Conference Calling on City Council, Dallas Area Interfaith, [video]

City Council Discussion on Aid to Immigrants, City of Dallas [video]

[Excerpt]

While it likely won’t address every need that arises from the economic downturn, [a new City program that provides $25 million in financial relief for San Antonio residents] has been touted as an example of how local government can partly fill a gap for families who don’t qualify for federal aid.

“No strings attached, no citizenship necessary, no documents, no paper necessary. Just residents in San Antonio and economic need,”

said Father Bill Kraus of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church.

Kraus worked alongside other COPS/Metro leaders to lobby City Council to increase the fund from $15.8 million to $25 million before it gained final approval. And the organization’s leaders are still working throughout the city to identify potential solutions for immigrant families.

Angelica Reyes, a COPS/Metro leader, parent in Harlandale Independent School District, and immigrant, discovered her own challenges as her school-age children switched to at-home learning. Reyes learned that she didn’t have the basic computer skills needed to help her kids adjust to class on a computer. Reyes and other parents and decided to approach the district for help.

[Photo Credit: Scott Ball, Rivard Report]

With No Federal Aid, Immigrant Families, Students Lean on Local Support, Rivard Report [pdf][pdf]

Commentary: A GI Bill for San Antonio, San Antonio Express-News [pdf]

$25 Million Housing Assistance Fund Offers Relief to San Antonians Affected by COVID-19, Texas Public Radio [pdf]

No Evictions for Now in Bexar County, but Renters' Struggles Likely to Persist, Rivard Report [pdf]

[Excerpt]

If they do work, parents in agricultural jobs leave their kids home alone, and the children are falling behind in school, she said. COPA and the Industrial Areas Foundation, a national network of faith- and community-based organizations, are among the groups advocating on behalf of immigrants in the state, and they have had some success. Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom set aside $75 million to support undocumented workers in California. Mr. Newsom also implemented two weeks’ paid sick leave for undocumented workers.

...

Bishop Jaime Soto of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, along with 1,000 other faith and community leaders from the California Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), on Tuesday will convene with state legislators on Zoom to call for more support for undocumented immigrants during the Covid-19 pandemic.

COPA is the local organization affiliated with the IAF, aiming to train leaders in community-based institutions throughout Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties. COPA works with faith communities, unions, schools and other institutions. All organizations are nonpartisan, multi-issue and multilingual.

The May 5 California IAF meeting will include over 200 leaders from COPA, as well as representatives from seven other IAF organizations from across the state. Several state legislators including Senator Maria Elena Durazo (Los Angeles), Assemblymember David Chiu (San Francisco), and Assemblymember Eloise Gomez-Reyes (San Bernardino) will respond to the IAF leaders’ agenda. Locally, Senator Anna Caballero and other officials will attend.

Immigrant Workers Face Economic Uncertainty During COVID-19 Shutdown, America Magazine 

Faith Leaders Call on State to Support Undocumented Immigrants, The Pajaronian

[Photo Credit: Kenneth Ferriera/The World Harold]

[Excerpt]

Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union are calling on Gov. Ricketts and state industry leaders to ensure that packing plant workers, among Nebraska’s essential workers, remain safe by requiring essential protections: 6-foot spacing of workers, personal protective equipment, increased cleaning and inspections. Workers must also be given the following benefits to ensure healthy communities: paid sick leave to minimize spread and care for affected family members, job protection, shutdown pay and transparency.

Nebraska Needs Strong Action to Protect Packing Workers, Omaha World-Herald [pdf]

After hundreds of VIP clergy and leaders, through a petition with their state Arizona Interfaith Network (AIN), called on Governor Ducey to extend the Stay-at-Home order past April 30, the Governor announced an extension of the Executive Order, with gradual loosening of current restrictions over coming weeks. 

Clergy representatives of AIN responded with a statement of cautious approval:

"May 15 could very well be a premature re-opening of the state, but we appreciate that the state will proceed cautiously and in accord with CDC guidelines. We could face a disastrous rebound of the Covid-19 crisis if we are not careful and vigilant. This is no time for false optimism. There is only one path to safety and that is an escalation of testing capacity."

Arizona Interfaith Network Applauds Continuation of State Order, Arizona Interfaith Network [pdf]

Ducey Extends Stay-At-Home Order Through May 15 But Eases Some Restrictions on Businesses, The Arizona Republic [pdf]

Religious Leaders Urge Ducey To Extend Stay-At-Home Order, KJZZ

[Photo Credit: Nathan W. Armes/Chalkbeat]

[Excerpts]

Comcast has made its low-cost program, called Internet Essentials, free for two months to families that qualify for programs such as food stamps or subsidized school lunches. But....undocumented families may not have the identification required to sign up for free internet service or may not feel comfortable providing it.

“We want to work with you to ensure equity of access for all of our students,” said a letter that the advocacy group Coloradans for the Common Good sent to Comcast executives Monday. “We hope to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss potential solutions.”

The letter was signed by faith leaders and the president of the Colorado Education Association, as well as the presidents of several local teachers unions, including Denver and Jefferson County....

To sign up for Internet Essentials, Comcast asks for a Social Security number. If a person doesn’t have one, Comcast instructs that person to take a picture of themselves holding their identification or to bring that identification to a company store.

Emilio Ramos, a social worker who works at two Denver elementary schools, said he’s heard from families where the parents are undocumented and don’t have a Social Security number.

He said parents are afraid that if they admit they’re undocumented and also provide their photo and personal information, that information could be flagged in Comcast’s system and shared with the government, making them a target for arrest or deportation.

...

Originally, the free internet was available to families who signed up by mid-May. Comcast has extended the deadline to June 30, a step praised by Coloradans for the Common Good, the coalition of labor union and faith leaders that pushed for the change.

Remove Internet Barriers for Undocumented Families, Colorado Teachers Urge, Chalkbeat [pdf]pdf]

Some Undocumented Families Don’t Feel Safe Applying For Free Internet, Making Remote Learning Even More Difficult, Colorado Public Radio [pdf]

Wi-Fi holdup: Social Security question still a barrier, Colorado teachers say, Chalkbeat

Press Conference Video, Coloradans for the Common Good

Over the objections of commercial landlords, the Marin County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday granting renters additional time to repay back rent in response to a push by Marin Organizing Committee (MOC) and allies.   As a result, residential and commercial tenants in Marin will have 90 days after a countywide moratorium on evictions expires on May 31 to repay back rent, plus added protections.

Said Reverend Tom Gable of Marin Lutheran Church and MOC:  

“We are particularly supportive of the new language that prohibits harassment, allows tenants to self-certify their inability to pay, and requires tenants to be notified of their rights before a landlord can take action in court.”

However, leaders continue to push for more.  According to MOC leaders, "90 days is an impossible timeline for renters to repay rent they missed during the shelter-in-place order. We risk spawning a second public health crisis if we allow Marin families to be thrown out of their homes as a result.”

Marin Tenants Given Extra 90 Days to Repay Back Rent, Marin Independent Journal [pdf] 

Marin Renters Allotted $1M More In Pandemic Aid, Marin Independent Journal

[Excerpt]

Hundreds of Arizona religious leaders urged Gov. Doug Ducey to extend his stay-at-home order.

Ducey’s executive order, made over a month ago, is set to expire at midnight on Thursday, unless the governor modifies or extends it.

In a letter organized by the Arizona Interfaith Network, [including Valley Interfaith Project and Pima County Interfaith] religious leaders praised Ducey for issuing the order in the first place. Now the governor must avoid the “false calculus” that pits Arizona’s economy against peoples’ lives, they wrote.

"The economy should serve the common good and promote dignified, safe work, particularly for the most vulnerable,” the letter states. “This a moral decision, not just a business decision. We must do all we can to save lives; life is irreplaceable.”

Ducey faces pressure from Republican leaders in Arizona, including the head of the Arizona GOP, to reopen the economy as soon as possible.

But faith leaders stated that Ducey should rely on clear and convincing science — that means robust testing and contact tracing — to decide when it’s safe to reopen Arizona’s economy.

“The coronavirus will only be contained by broad testing and the application of our best public health measures,” they wrote. “The disease will not cooperate with deadlines imposed by us.  It will not respond to political calculations or wishful thinking, and neither should the state of Arizona.”

Religious Leaders Urge Ducey To Extend Stay-At-Home Order, KJZZ Radio [pdf]

Governor Ducey: The Stay-at-Home Order Saves Lives, Arizona Interfaith Network

[Excerpt below]

Low-income families, residents in the country illegally, victims of domestic violence and children aging out of foster care are the target audience for a $15 million coronavirus relief fund Harris County Commissioners Court created Tuesday.

The fund, proposed by Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, aims to assist residents who are ineligible for federal aid through the CARES Act or for whom the $1,200 stimulus payments are insufficient.

....

Minister Jacqueline Hailey of the New Hope Baptist Church [which is a member of TMO] said housing is a particular area of need, as Friday marks the second time rent will come due since the pandemic reached the Houston area in March.

“There are 70,000 Houston renters who were unable to pay their rent last month, and there will be even more in May,” Hailey said.

[Photo Credit: Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle]

Harris County Creates $15 Million Pandemic Relief Fund Aimed at Most Vulnerable Residents, Houston Chronicle [pdf]

[Excerpts below]

With a 10-1 vote, City Council increased its housing assistance program Thursday by nearly $25 million to help as many as 20,000 families pay rent, utilities, and internet bills and provide cash to purchase groceries, gas, and medicine as they cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

City staff originally proposed a $15.8 million COVID-19 Emergency Housing Program but, at the direction of Councilman Roberto Treviño (D1) and community advocates, the City was able to identify an additional $9.2 million from various city-related accounts. 

....

Linda Davila, housing co-chair for COPS/Metro Alliance, said the program represents a major step toward protecting vulnerable families. However, her the community organizing group's data suggests that 30,000 local residents now teeter on the brink of financial disaster. That puts the total need closer to $70 million.

"We're going to ask the county to match that [$25 million] if they can," said Davila, who represents St. Timothy Catholic Church. "Then we'll have to go after private dollars to fill in the gaps."

COPS/Metro began pushing city leaders two weeks ago to expand the emergency funding. Because local dollars added to the pot come with fewer restrictions, they'll be available to a larger number of local residents, including those without documents.

"We weren't going to let it go," Davila said. "We met with one councilperson after the other. We met with the city manager, the assistant city managers."

San Antonio, Bexar County Boost Housing Assistance 30 Fold, Rivard Report [pdf][pdf] 

San Antonio Council Votes for $25 Million Fund to Help Residents with Rent, Food and Medicine, San Antonio Current [pdf][pdf]

Commentary: It's Time for San Antonio's New Deal, Rivard Report [pdf][pdf]

City Council Vote on Possibly Adding Millions to Housing Assistance Fund, FOX San Antonio [pdf][pdf]